Destination South Friars Beach

When we look east southeast from our balcony, we can see the lower peninsula of St. Kitts. It’s a string of small dormant volcanic mountains rising out of the sea. According to the map, a road winds its way out to the tip. For us on bikes, it wasn’t doable, however we did think we could get part way out to a popular snorkeling beach called South Friars. The main obstacle was going to be Sir Timothy Hill. On one hand, it’s called a hill. On the other, it has a name starting with Sir so commands some respect from cyclists.

We were on our way by 7:30 AM. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. It was Sunday morning, so the traffic was light. Sir Timothy had a long sweeping approach, a beautiful view from the top, and a serious switchback down the back side. We took note for the return trip.

We arrived at South Friars Beach by 9 or so. There were a couple of beachfront commercial establishments to choose from. Most were simple and funky, and we ended up at one called Shipwreck.

Outside the restaurant bar, I chatted up a guy sweeping sand out the entrance. I thought maybe he was the owner and cook. He had just finished his breakfast and suggested we have one too. He thought we could park our bikes against some standing bamboo, and he’d keep an eye on them for us. He turned out to be the undercover security. I asked him where the snorkeling reef was, and he said it was at the green buoy. I looked out on the bay and didn’t see it. After we left him and ventured out on the beach, I saw the green buoy about 10 meters off shore, just to the left of the restaurant. It was so close I thought he must have misunderstood my question.

After getting settled under one of their roughly crafted palapas, sure enough, there was the reef about 10 meters off shore. It stretched for the full length of the kilometer long beach. The water was relatively calm because we were on the leeward side of the island, but it was too shallow to snorkel on the near side of the reef or over top. At first it appeared that it was going to be difficult to get into the deeper water on the other side. However, as everything else at Shipwreck, it was simple; almost too simple; just to the left of the green buoy we could swim out and around the end of the reef. Of course, that’s the reason we had been directed to the green buoy when I had asked about the reef.

The water was warm; there were lots of beautiful fish and interesting coral. In particular, there were some large angel fish, but they were camera shy and somewhat camouflaged by their surroundings. We’ve seen more exotic reefs, but they’re all different and fascinating to us. It was worth the trip.

At noon, we went into the open-air Shipwreck restaurant bar. I mentioned earlier it was funky. Just to paint the picture a little clearer, while waiting for your drink, if you loved the one you were with, or had some other message for the world, you just took a black marker, found a spot on a post supporting the roof or an overhead rafter, and spelled it out. For lunch, Marlene had a Ting with a Sting, I had a Stag beer, and we shared an order of Conch Fritters.



Our return trip up Sir Timothy's switchback was a bit of a grind, but in low gear, getting to the top just took time and a little perspiration. Then of course, there was the glide down the other side which was a little sweet revenge. It was all part of our adventure to South Friars Beach and another pleasant day on St. Kitts.

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http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2013/03/dancing-in-moonlight.html